Australia have accused British and Irish Lions prop Adam Jones of trying to
“coax” their front row to engage illegally at the scrum during their first
Test defeat in Brisbane.

The Australians have been reviewing footage this week of how Jones and Wales scrummaged during the Six Nations Championship. They believe Jones earned the Lions a crucial advantage last weekend by “playing a few little games”.

The Lions were able to dominate the scrum during their 23-21 victory at the Suncorp Stadium before Jones was replaced along with England loosehead prop Alex Corbisiero going into the final quarter.

Australia's pack managed to gain the upper hand during the final exchanges, crucially turning over an attacking Lions scrum and winning a penalty from a Lions put-in that gave Kurtley Beale the chance to snatch victory in the last minute, but he failed with his penalty attempt.

Wallabies tighthead prop Ben Alexander is concerned that this ­Saturday’s referee, South African Craig Joubert, will adopt a strict approach to early engagements at scrum time and says his forwards are preparing themselves to counteract any perceived ploys by Jones.

“The reason that Adam Jones is rated one of the best tightheads in the world is that he is very smart,” said Alexander. “There were a few little games being played around the engagement and I am sure he has a few more up his sleeve. It is up to us to study all the footage and we have been looking at how Wales went in the Six Nations. They had a tough game against France but dominated all the other scrums. Jones is very experienced.

“We had Joubert for Brumbies against the Crusaders and he did us for going early a couple of times. It is something he looks for and the Lions tried to coax us into going early on Saturday. That is the tactical side of the scrum and why scrummaging is so much fun. Without it, it is mind-numbingly boring, just bashing heads against each other. It will be another great battle.”

Alexander said that while the Lions had successfully disrupted the rhythm of their engagement early in the game, the fact that the Wallabies had finished the game with the dominant scrum had given his side the confidence that they can edge what will be a crucial battle in Melbourne. “The scrum is not about one but all of them,” Alexander added. “We ripped in, kept fighting and managed to turn the tables on them. It is something we put a lot of work into. You keep your cool if something goes wrong. We have always been confident about our scrum and we knew what they were capable of.

“It was good to get a hit-out as an eight: it is a team effort and you have to find your rhythm. It is a starting place for us, but it is not where we want to be.

“There are areas where we can improve and they will not be happy with the way they finished. Graham Rowntree [the Lions forwards coach] will be filthy with that and they will be working hard this week.”

The decision by the Lions management to keep Paul O’Connell with the squad despite suffering a broken arm during last Saturday’s victory indicates how much the Ireland lock will be missed on the field in the remaining two Test matches. O’Connell has been an important sounding board and supporter for Lions captain Sam Warburton.

Alexander believes O’Connell’s absence will leave a major hole to fill in the Lions pack, saying the Munster lock had played through the pain barrier after sustaining the fracture to his arm. “Losing Paul O’Connell is a massive blow for the Lions,” Alexander added. “He is a player I have a huge respect for. Our physio said before the last series of scrums that O’Connell had broken his arm, but he got up and packed down and shook hands after the game.

“They will miss that hardness. He is one of the greatest players I have ever played against.”

Alexander warned the Lions that the Wallabies would bring an even greater intensity to Saturday’s Test to keep the series alive.

“We will never get another chance against the Lions and we have to make amends on Saturday,” he added. “We have a history of bouncing back in recent years. You see the best of us when our backs are up against the wall.”